The child's imagination
by MaybeDreaming
Summary: Alice revisits the garden from her childhood daydreams as a teenager and is reminded of her amazing adventures in Wonderland.
1. Chapter 1

Alice Fanfiction

The white snowflakes scattered themselves down from the sky and gently kissed the ground and trees as they landed. Alice wound her way through the gardens, her long coat swishing against her petite body. Her mother had encouraged her to see the grounds, forcing her to leave her book and warm fire for the sub-zero winter afternoon. Alice enjoyed the fresh January air, but couldn't wait to return to her gripping story.

At fifteen years old, she was an introverted teenager, known throughout the country for her genuine understanding of her father's business and the family affairs. Her strong boots slipped on the snowy ground as she came to the edge of the garden, but she made her way over to the gap in the fence. She had fit through so easily a few years ago. The space in the fence was about the size and shape of a rabbit - perhaps that was what had sparked her overactive imagination. She laughed at herself for believing in a talking rabbit who wore a waistcoat.

Her boots crunched into the snow as she clambered through the opening, careful not to ruin her lovey coat. Fresh snow blurred her footprints, covering evidence of her existence. She remembered her last journey into the abandoned garden: it was in the springtime, and she had worn her favourite blue apron dress and her little black shoes which were always muddy from her unladylike adventures in the forest.

She reached the clearing, somewhere she hadn't been since she was seven. The maze was overgrown now, and it was impossible to see where the path ended and the hedges began. It wasn't hard to imagine that she really could have been chased through the garden by strange creatures, given the abandoned nature of the area. The marble maze entrance had hearts carved into it, and there was an old and battered playing card wedged into the claws of one of the odd statues her father was so fond of.

She remembered her frightening dreams of a grinning cat and almost turned back. But she was older now, and everything was less scary with the snow blanketing it. Plus, her mother said she had to wander the grounds for at least half an hour, as her cheeks were apparently too pale. Alice was stopped dead as her foot snapped on something. A little back headband, unworn for a few years. Her gloved fingers closed around the object and she felt a deep longing for the ever-colourful and varied world of Wonderland.

She walked shivering through the marble entrance. The ground on which she was walking changed from uneven gravel paving to the old cracked marble pathway, with weeds and grass finding their way up through the gaps. Although she craned her neck as high as she could, it was impossible to see over the overgrown hedges.

"Perhaps this is what it feels like to be an ant," wondered Alice. She stepped carefully around a tree root, noticing how warped and gnarled it had grown.

She smiled at a tiny blue caterpillar which had clung on for a ride onto her boot and gently shook it off to carry on walking.

Deeper into the maze, she lost all sense of direction, backing off at dead ends to continue through the blur of passageways and statues. One of them was a small, fat schoolboy. When Alice peered closely at his collar, it had a word written on it. It was impossible to read from dirt and wear. Alice shivered again, not liking the leering expression on the boy's face, and moved quietly on.


	2. Chapter 2

The next statue Alice came to was identical: another pudgy little schoolboy with clothes a little too small for him. Alice knew that the maze used to be well-kept, and was owned by a widower who was an artist and a recluse. Alice guessed that the odd statues were the objects of his work, strange beings plucked from his mind and brought to life by his hands. Alice wondered if the gardeners would ever again open that part of the grounds. The maze used to be so grand, apparently one of the most intricate of its kind in the country. And now it was falling apart, an embarrassing eyesore which they tried to ignore.

Alice kept her hand outstretched to keep herself turning to the right and soon found herself right at the very centre of the maze. There was a pond, with a tinkling fountain and pretty statues of fairies clustered around it. A secret haven, which only she would use. Alice decided that the next time her mother ordered her outside, she would bring a book along with her and walk here, to read. It would technically be getting fresh air, exactly what her mother wanted for her.

It was a truly magical spot. The white marble benches and the beautiful statues added to the fantastical atmosphere.

Alice had found her real wonderland, not the one from her daydreams. The wind stirred the bare winter branches of the snowy trees and the statues seemed to smile happily at her. The snowflakes continued to float down from the clouded, endless sky above her.


End file.
